Center for Inquiry | Blog entries by Jefferson Seaverhttp://www.centerforinquiry.net/
with Jefferson SeaverenCopyright 20182018-02-21T14:29:38+00:00Religion Battles Medicine in KenyaJefferson Seaverhttp://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/religion_battles_medicine_in_kenya/
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/religion_battles_medicine_in_kenya/#When:15:35Z
There are some stories that repeat themselves over and over again — just change the names, dates, and locations. How often do we need to hear that another priest has been accused of sexual abuse, or that another child died because his or her parents chose prayer over medicine? Boring and monotonous as it may be, it seems that the story bears repeating until we collectively put a stop to such inanity.

Religion Battles Medicine in Kenya

Achieng is a five-year-old girl who has for the past two weeks been lying in bed suffering from malaria. Her parents and other relatives don’t believe in modern medicine, saying that it opens doors for evil.

Achieng’s condition gets worse and she slips into unconsciousness. Instead of her parents rushing her to hospital, they kneel beside her and pray. By the time they figure out that God also works through people (read doctors), it is a tad too late. Achieng dies.

]]>2009-09-26T15:35+00:00Churches put faith in advertisingJefferson Seaverhttp://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/churches_put_faith_in_advertising/
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/churches_put_faith_in_advertising/#When:16:13Z
The alleged supreme creator of the universe, who is said to have revealed himself through nature so that people are without excuse, needs a little help getting the word out.

“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:18-21

Why would this Guy need an advertising agency to pitch his wares? As a person that makes his living in advertising and marketing, I can't help but think that landing the God account is pretty impressive. I wonder what kind of budget he has to work with.

Billboards across the state, often located outside churches, will use colourful photos with captions thanking Jesus for everyday elements of life.

An image of someone feeding seagulls says “Thanks for hot chips. Amen”, while another shows a little girl on a beach with the caption “Hey, thanks for the beach, Jesus”.

Another shows a parrot with the caption: “Thank you, Jesus, for birds that look like they’re wearing pants.”

]]>2009-09-07T16:13+00:00Mr. Deity and the PlanesJefferson Seaverhttp://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/mr._deity_and_the_planes/
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/mr._deity_and_the_planes/#When:15:30Z
I haven't watched television in forever. We don't have cable. Everything I want to see is available on the Net. Colbert, Stewart, Bart and Homer, and of course Mr. Deity. This episode is a great one. Enjoy. Share it with your religious friends. They'll laugh while their most sacred beliefs are skewered.

]]>2009-09-07T15:30+00:00Maybe religion is the answer claims atheist scientistJefferson Seaverhttp://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/maybe_religion_is_the_answer_claims_atheist_scientist/
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/maybe_religion_is_the_answer_claims_atheist_scientist/#When:14:56Z
That something is true is no guarantee that it's helpful to the survival of homo sapiens. Religion may in fact be an artifact of evolution that we can discard without long lasting harm to the species. But then again, some functions of religion such its ability to foster mass cooperation, may be indispensable to our success. The scary thing is that it may not be a kind, gentle, liberal, and peaceful religion that plays this role.

I am sometimes met with confused stares and comments by atheists who can't imagine how something that is untrue, often harmful, sometimes brutal and barbaric, could be vital to our evolutionary fitness. Let me make my position very clear: I am NOT taking the position that religion is necessary to our survival as a species. But I am saying that it could be. It is not inconceivable that Islam or some other undreamt religion will be our saving grace, so to speak. Such a world is not one I would wish to live in. The better world we all hope for may well be our undoing, but life will be better for having lived it that way, even if that life comes to an early end.

Maybe religion is the answer claims atheist scientist
The world may have to turn to God to save itself from climate change, claims one of Britain’s most eminent scientists.

Lord May, the president of the British Science Association, said religion may have helped protect human society from itself in the past and it may be needed again.

Speaking on the eve of the association’s annual conference, the committed atheist said he was worried the world was on a “calamitous trajectory” brought on by its failure to co-ordinate measures against global warming.

He said that no country was prepared to take the lead and a “punisher” was needed to make sure the rules of co-operation were not broken...

...“A supernatural punisher maybe part of the solution.”

He said in the past a belief in a god, or gods, that punish the unrighteous may have been part of the mechanism of evolution that maintains co-operation in a dog-eat-dog world.

Having a god as the ultimate punisher was possibly a logical step for a society to take, he added.

"Given that punishment is a useful mechanism, how much more effective it would be if you invested that power not in an individual you don't like, but an all-seeing, all powerful deity that controls the world," he said

"It makes for rigid, doctrinaire societies, but it makes for co-operation."

PETROPAVLOVKA, Russia — The crowd shivered in breathless anticipation as dramatic music heralded his approach. “The Teacher is coming!” they whispered.

They parted in a human tunnel to allow the approach of the man they know as “Vissarion, the Teacher.” His long brown hair and white robes flowing and face fixed in a beatific smile, Vissarion outstretched his arms in blessing.

Women sobbed in ecstasy and clung to each other as he passed. “It feels like eternity,” one woman gushed. Close by, one man sighed in wonder: “It’s love on earth! Can’t you feel it?”

For thousands of followers, Vissarion is no less than the second coming of Jesus of Nazareth, reincarnated 2,000 years after his crucifixion, deep in the Siberian wilderness.

His promise of salvation has brought 4,000 followers to eke out a living in this far-flung region of Siberia, in one of the more extraordinary currents in a country known for its eccentric religious sects.

[From
The Reason Project
]
]]>2009-09-07T03:02+00:00Instruction Manual for LifeJefferson Seaverhttp://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/instruction_manual_for_life/
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/instruction_manual_for_life/#When:02:03Z
At a recent CFI event called
Losing My Religion
, a panel of formerly religious members told their stories — sometimes tearfully. But even a few atheists didn't understand why there was so much drama: "Eh, just get over it."

For those, like me, who once took their faith very seriously, losing their religion was often dramatic, even traumatic. Here's a nicely done piece by TheraminTrees for all those who have bothered to read the
Instruction Manual for Life.

]]>2009-09-07T02:03+00:00The Greatest Show on EarthJefferson Seaverhttp://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/the_greatest_show_on_earth/
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/the_greatest_show_on_earth/#When:01:18Z
Two excerpts from Richard Dawkins' forthcoming book
The Greatest Show on Earth
are now available online:

I hope I don't need to remind people that newspaper headlines are written by sub-editors, and the author never has any say over it. [From
RichardDawkins.net
]

I wonder which will end up being the greatest show — the book itself, or the mischaracterizations, distortions, and demonization that are sure to follow. Still, Dawkins has come into the ring fighting:

You find your precious time continually preyed upon...by a baying pack of ignoramuses...

...Evolution is a fact, and [my] book will demonstrate it. No reputable scientist disputes it, and no unbiased reader will close the book doubting it.

]]>2009-09-07T01:18+00:00Birth control battle in Revere - The Boston GlobeJefferson Seaverhttp://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/birth_control_battle_in_revere_-_the_boston_globe/
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/birth_control_battle_in_revere_-_the_boston_globe/#When:23:14Z
All you have to do is read the headline and it's a pretty safe assumption that the article isn't about a battle between opposing secularists or scientists or women's rights groups. You don't have to read far to confirm that it's a Reverend Smuckity Schmuck from some Born-of-a-Virgin Parish.

But the policy infuriates Magno and others such as the Rev. George Szal of Revere’s Immaculate Conception Parish. Szal said he has urged the 2,100 families that attend his church to sign the ballot petition.

“I think it’s a big mistake,’’ said Szal. “The problem is they’re saying go ahead and do what you want, just don’t make trouble for us by getting a disease or getting pregnant. And the fact of the matter is condoms don’t always work; they leak. And kids discover you lose half the pleasure when you’re using an instrument like that.

“Contraceptives are dangerous, especially for girls who are still developing, and the morning-after pill is a euphemism for an abortive action.’’

It's sure good to know that the celibate priests have our kids' backs. Come on, only half the pleasure? The church wants better for its young sinners than that!

]]>2009-09-06T23:14+00:00Penn & Teller’s Bullshit blasphemes the VaticanJefferson Seaverhttp://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/penn_tellers_bullshit_blasphemes_the_vatican/
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/penn_tellers_bullshit_blasphemes_the_vatican/#When:19:22Z
As the first celebration of Blasphemy Day (September 30) approaches, a recent episode of Penn & Teller's Bullshit took on the Vatican:

The half-hour show libeled the Catholic Church with impunity, blaming the Church for, as [Bill] Donohue put it, "every evil in history." Show host Jillette said the "intolerance, greed, paranoia, hypocrisy and callous disregard for human suffering" was the hallmark of the Catholic Church. Others on the show branded the Church as an "amoral" and "power hungry" institution that is just worried about its "cash flow."
LifeSiteNews.com

Not surprisingly, the Catholic League claims the show was full of errors and lies:

Jillette lied about the Vatican’s reaction to Sabina Guzzanti, an Italian foul-mouthed comedian who staged an assault on the pope in 2008: the pope never sought to throw “her sexy ass in jail” and never once sought any punitive measure against her—it’s all a bald face lie! Jillette lied about a 1962 Vatican document—it was a statement about penalties for priests who used the confessional to solicit sex: it was not a cover-up for sexual misconduct! He lied about Pope Benedict XVI—he had absolutely nothing to do with overseeing cases of priestly sexual misconduct in the United States! And so on.

Spokesmen for Catholics for Choice, SNAP and Dignity—three anti-Catholic groups that lie about their Catholic status—twisted, distorted and ridiculed Church teachings on sexuality.

Keith Porteous Wood, one of the interviewees in the show, was unrepentant, saying he was proud to have to been a part of the programme. “Penn & Teller said something that was long overdue – that the Vatican has a lot of answering to do for its corruption, greed and disgraceful attempts to cover up child abuse by its priests. Even worse than that is the damage through its irrational and dishonest opposition to contraception. This is playing a major role in the population explosion that the planet simply cannot support, in unnecessary deaths from AIDS and in massively increasing poverty” he said. “What is truly shocking is that governments and international organisations are unwilling to take on the Vatican, which uses its position as a half church half nation state to maximise its power while minimising its accountability”.

]]>2009-09-06T19:22+00:00Praying that God will Kill the PresidentJefferson Seaverhttp://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/praying_that_god_will_kill_the_president/
http://www.centerforinquiry.net/blog/praying_that_god_will_kill_the_president/#When:18:40Z
According to the Associated Baptist Press, Wiley Drake, former VP of the Southern Baptist Convention, is convinced that God was behind the murder of abortion provider George Tiller. He hopes that God won’t stop there.

Drake said June 2 on "The Alan Colmes Show" that unless Obama repents, he is praying that God will kill the president.

Where does Drake derive his view that God will bring "death and misfortune on his enemies"?

"It is in the Bible, and we are proud to say as Southern Baptists that
we believe the Book," he said. "You’ve got to believe the whole Book,
brother, or you don’t believe any of it."